19 September 2011

The days are shorter, the nights cooler, there is a nip in the air and the trees are showing their first signs of burnished gold. Although barbecue weather is still here my mind has already flipped over to comfort food, crackling fires and cozy blankets. I am one Canadian that hopes the warm spell continues for a while and that an Indian Summer will carry on into November.

With the shorter days comes the longing for comfort foods. When sick, or tired, or far from home, everyone seems to yearn for the gastronomic equivalent of a warm sweater, a kiss on the forehead, or a favourite blanket. Comfort foods nourish the soul as well as our bodies and tend to be familiar foods that remind us of simpler times or of a contented childhood. The best medicine when the weather turns is undeniably some delicious comfort food. Just like the pending season your senses can be awakened with anything from a caramelized squash soup to a large bowl of comfortable macaroni and cheese. It is not uncommon for my home to be filled with warm, fragrant and earthy aromas of a slow cooked roast or bubbling crock pot.

With the onset of fall my favourite "fast food" chicken saltimbocca takes on the culinary version of a warm sweater and wraps intself not only in fine Italian proscuitto but takes on some autumnal flavours of sweet roasted tomatoes and a bed of garlic infused olive oil mashed potatoes. Mashed potatoes, as we know them, are generally made with plenty of butter and either heavy or sour cream. But I'm liking this approach which is a great vehicle for us to use the best oils we can get our hands on. It’s worth every penny to use a great-tasting, salad-dressing quality olive oil here, as the flavour of it will shine. They go wonderfully with any chicken dish but would also pair well with bluefish or salmon.

Back to the Future....

Over four years of blogging I have found many wonderful recipes to share on these pages. Some from my own kitchen, some from your creative blogs and web sites, and some from well known celebrities and chefs. I have been feeling a little nostalgic and was browsing these very pages just the other day, creeping back to the very beginning in 2006 when More Than Burnt Toast was in it's infancy and no more than "knee high to a grasshopper". We all have those stellar recipes from when we first started when we were lucky enough to find one comment and have maybe one reader; in my case even before I was taking photos of the dishes I prepared. My other motivation for reconnecting with the past is to create uniform formatting on this blog and this is a fun way for me to revisit past posts.

So here are a couple of flashback recipes from the very first baby steps here at MTBT with...

1. Slice the breasts horizontally into very thin cutlets. Place a leaf of sage on each piece and cover with a slice of prosciutto. Use a toothpick to keep the small package together if you wish. Coat each cutlet with the flour; then shake off the excess.

2. Melt butter with oil in a large nonstick skillet over medium-high heat. Working in batches, add a few cutlets at a time. Start with the proscuitto side down, and cook over high heat. After 3 minutes, turn to brown the other side. Lower the heat, cover, and cook 2 minutes. Season with a little salt (prosciutto is already fairly salty) and pepper to taste. Remove the cutlets from the pan and keep them warm. Repeat the operation with the remaining cutlets.

3. Pour the wine into the pan to deglaze, add 2 teaspoons flour and whisk. Add chicken broth and lemon juice.Bring to a boil. Whisk until sauce thickens slightly, about 30 seconds. Season to taste with salt and pepper. Place the cutlets onto warmed plates, remove the toothpicks (if using). Spoon the sauce over the cutlets then serve.

1. Plunge the potatoes into a large pot of rapidly boiling water. Add the whole garlic cloves and cook, covered, until the potatoes are very tender - about 25 minutes

2.Drain the potatoes and garlic well and turn them into a warm serving bowl.

3.Using a potato masher, mash them coarsely, adding the olive oil a little at a time.

4.When all the oil has been added, taste and add more salt if needed and an abundance of black pepper.

5.Serve immediately.

Roasted Vine Tomatoes

about 200 g baby vine tomatoes

olive oil

Maldon salt

1. Preheat the oven to (200 °C).

2. Place the tomatoes onto a baking tray, drizzle with olive oil and sprinkle with salt. Roast for 15 minutes.

3. Serve the chicken on a bed of garlic and olive oil mash and top with a few roasted vine tomatoes.

You are reading this post on More Than Burnt Toast at http://morethanburnttoast.blogspot.com. Excerpts and links may be used, provided that full and clear credit is given to the author and or owner of More Than Burnt Toast. All rights reserved by Valerie Harrison.

I don't want summer to end Val. I think Chicken Saltimbocca is the kind of dish that will gently lull me into fall. Your presentation is lovely with the garlicky potatoes as a base and the colorful tomatoes as a garnish.Sam

I'm always looking forward to the food of a season. While I hate to put away the many salads of summer, I'm ready to comfort food and this recipe sounds delicious--especially with the potatoes to accompany!

What I wouldn't give for a little nip in the air down here, Val! We have a couple months of hot left yet.I agree about comfort foods...as I've mentioned, I lived in Michigan for many years and dishes like your Chicken Saltimbocca are just what's needed when the weather starts to chill. Lovely dish!

I hope your wish of nice weather through November comes true for us as well! It's funny how our body's react to cooler evenings and shorter days - I'm thinking of more comforting dishes too. This one looks delicious!

We love saltimbocca and over the years, it's sort of morphed from one thing to another. Love the tomatoes with it and the mash. I know what you mean about the weather. We're experiencing coolness and I like it, but the sun came out today and I realized I'm not quite ready for Fall's chilly nights.

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My blog More Than Burnt Toast has been my passion for almost 9 years and has evolved with me over time as I have gained confidence in the kitchen. Follow my travels through Italy and Greece one recipe at a time, upcoming cooking classes at local Okanagan wineries and restaurants, as well as daily experimentation in my own kitchen. Every day we should be excited about what we are eating even if it just means making use of a wonderful find at our local farmers market. I look forward to getting to know you.